Seriously mate, its a real shame that the once flamboyant and volatile set of players are nothing more than Mullahs who try to preach and convert on tours!!

But the real reason behind no one taking any Pakistani is the political problems and the uncertainty in the Indo Pak ties. The franchisees are not risking anything. If they had picked up say Shahid Afridi for $500,000 and used up their quota of money to be spent at the auction and then there was another terror incident which barred any Pakistani player to play in the IPL, the franchise betting big on the Pakistani player would be hurt big time.

MUMBAI: Pakistani cricketers will not feature in the third edition of the Indian Premier League this year after being ignored by franchises at the players’ auction on Tuesday.

None of the 11 Pakistanis who went under the hammer, including flamboyant all-rounder Shahid Afridi, were sold despite their national team being the reigning World Twenty20 champions.

Pakistani cricketers took part in the IPL’s inaugural season in 2008, but were denied permission by Islamabad to play last year due to growing political tensions with India.

Multi-millionaire owners of the eight clubs, who attended the auction, declined to comment on why the Pakistanis were kept out. But a franchise official, who preferred to remain unnamed, told AFP that he was not surprised. “We were not sure if the Pakistanis will get visas and we did not want players who won’t be available,” he said.

“Besides, there is also the security issue. No one was willing to take a chance.”

Of the 66 players up for bid, only 11 were sold, with West Indian all-rounder Kieron Pollard and New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond drawing the highest prices at 750,000 dollars each. Pollard was picked up by Mumbai Indians, owned by India’s richest industrialist Mukesh Ambani, while Bond went to Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan’s Kolkata Knight Riders.

The auction was held for cricketers not already linked with any IPL team and was limited to the third edition, which will be held across India from March 12 to April 25. From 2011 onwards, when the number of teams will be increased from eight to 10, a fresh auction will be held for all cricketers for a three-year term.

Other star players who were ignored at the auction were Australian Test wicket-keeper Brad Haddin, England spinner Graeme Swann, West Indian Ramnaresh Sarwan and Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan.

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“The way I see it, the IPL and India have made fun of us and our country by treating us this way,” Afridi said.

...
“They have basically tried to hurt our cricket and image, and this is most disappointing because I believe there should be no politics in sports,” Pakistani all-rounder Abdul Razzaq said.
...
“They mean to say none of our players are good enough to be in the IPL. I am sorry to say the franchisees have taken a decision not based on cricketing sense but on political grounds, which is a shame and has hurt the image of the sport,” Tanvir said.
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But former Pakistan captain, Rameez Raja was more vocal in his take on the auction.

“I think the IPL and the Indian government have lost a golden opportunity to help improve ties between the two countries,” the former captain told PTI.
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here is the best gem see how they think about there country themselves

Former Pakistani leg-spinner Abdul Qadir said it is time the PCB organised its own league.

“If the need arises we should hold this league even at a neutral venue and try to invite as many Indian players as possible to give out a clear message we don’t mix sports with politics,” he said.
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“The fact is the IPL is a private enterprise, and if their franchises are not willing to take our players, what can anyone do. But there is no doubt that our players and Pakistan cricket have been humiliated and insulted at such a big forum in a planned manner,” he stated.
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same here also: IPL made fun of Pak by snubbing us at auction: Shahid

Who didnt allow them to play last year, that too at a neutral venue? But off course their own government and at a neutral venue at that.

None of the franchisees have taken decision to boycott Pakistani players based on cricketing reasons for sure. They cannot spend their quota of money on players who they think might either not be allowed by their own or the Indian government if there is another terror attack on India.

Who didnt allow them to play last year, that too at a neutral venue? But off course their own government and at a neutral venue at that.

None of the franchisees have taken decision to boycott Pakistani players based on cricketing reasons for sure. They cannot spend their quota of money on players who they think might either not be allowed by their own or the Indian government if there is another terror attack on India.

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In short Pakistanis have a spoilt kid mentality who start howling when don't get the candy wanted

That a frosty cricketing relation between India and Pakistan continues was apparent at the Indian Premier League (IPL) III auction: none of the eight franchises bid for the 11 Pakistani players, including the stars of last year’s T20 World Cup win, in the pool.

IPL chairman Lalit Modi refused to read too much into the matter, but a couple of team owners said they did not opt for the Pakistanis because they were not sure of their availability.

“Many other players remained unsold. I don’t read too much into this,” said Modi. But Shilpa Shetty, a stakeholder in Rajasthan Royals, pointed out, “We were not convinced about their availability and that’s why we did not want to take any risk. If someone is not going to be available, why bid for him?”

“Availability was the key issue. We were not sure about that,” added Kings XI Punjab owner Ness Wadia.

The general perception was that the team owners avoided ‘risk’ because of prevailing uncertainty between India and Pakistan.
In Pakistan, cricketers and politicians hit out at India. “The way I see it, the IPL and India have made fun of Pakistan and our players,” said T20 skipper Shahid Afridi.

“We are the T20 world champions and for me the attitude of the franchises was disappointing. I feel bad for the Indian people who, I am sure, wanted to see us play in the IPL this year.”

“I am very disappointed,” said all-rounder Abdul Razzaq. “This is a conspiracy to malign us... It was their plan.”

Pakistan’s sports minister Ejaz Jhakhrani said Pakistani cricketers were the best in the world, adding, “It looks like a conspiracy by India to give such treatment to our stars.”

But the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was guarded in its reaction.
“It’s hugely disappointing. We were told that our players would be considered at the auction. That was the reason why we released the 11 players,” PCB chairman Ijaz Butt told DNA. “We are surprised that none of our players was taken.”

He said the PCB would take up the issue with the IPL and the
Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). “We have been trying to contact Modi and other BCCI officials. We will try to find out the reason,” Butt said. Asked if anyone issued an instruction to the IPL owners to boycott the Pakistan players, he said: “I’m not aware of such a thing.’

The third IPL auction, held in Mumbai on Tuesday, has been overshadowed by a controversy arising from the fact that not a single Pakistani player of the 11 on the auction list - including several of the World Cup-winning team - was picked up. Pakistan's players have reacted with anger and attributed the blackout to politics; the IPL has said it was the franchises' decision and the franchises have explained it on grounds of cricketing strategy or availability during the tournament.

Though the players - including proven Twenty20 performers Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir and Umar Gul and emerging talent Mohammed Aamer and Umar Akmal - had been given the go-ahead from the Pakistan government, franchises were said to be wary over whether the strained relations with India would affect their ability to get visas.

However, the inclusion of Pakistani players in the IPL's final auction list, released on January 6, was on the basis of specific requests received from the franchises - every player on that list had to be officially sought by at least one franchise. It is not clear what changed in the franchises' thinking within two weeks.

The development has drawn sharp criticism in Pakistan. Aijaz Hussain Jakhrani, the federal sports minister, said he had complained to his Indian counterpart over the incident. "I have phoned the sports minister of India and recorded a protest over the unjust and discriminatory treatment meted out to the Pakistani cricketers," Jakhrani told AFP. "The Pakistani ministries of sports, interior and foreign affairs had given political and security clearance to Pakistani players in time to play. It is indeed a matter of disrespect to…the champions of Twenty20 World Cup."

However, Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, was relatively unfazed. "It really does not bother us; what difference does it make to us if our players don't play in the IPL this season? They didn't play in the last season as well," he said.

Afridi, Pakistan's Twenty20 captain, was the first player up for sale on Tuesday but fetched no bids. He called it a snub to his country. "The way I see it, the IPL and India have made fun of us and our country," he said. "We are the Twenty20 world champions and for me the attitude of the franchises was disappointing. I feel bad for the Indian people who, I am sure, wanted to see us play in the IPL this year."

Abdul Razzaq, the allrounder, said politics and sports should be kept separate. "They have basically tried to hurt our cricket and image and this is most disappointing because I believe there should be no politics in sports," Razzaq was quoted as saying by PTI. "In the end it is the IPL which has lost out because the fact is our players have star value and are the best in T20 cricket."

The Pakistan government had not permitted its players to participate in last year's tournament due to security fears after the Mumbai attacks. The wrangling continued in the run-up to this year's auction; when the Pakistan players failed to procure the requisite NOCs, the IPL shut its doors on them for missing out on the December 7 deadline but relented when Pakistan's interior ministry cleared the players for participation in the IPL.

Tanvir, the best bowler in the inaugural IPL and an instrumental part of the Rajasthan Royals' title win, wondered why so much effort was put into getting the clearance from his country's board and government if none of the franchises wanted to buy Pakistan players.

"They mean to say none of our players are good enough to be in the IPL," Tanvir said. "I am sorry to say the franchises have taken a decision not based on cricketing sense but on political grounds which is a shame and has hurt the image of the sport."

Lalit Modi, the IPL commissioner, said the apprehension over the availability of Pakistan players was the main reason for them being unsold. "Franchises are no more ready to spend $7-8 million on someone who won't be available for the tournament," he said. "It not only exhausted their purse but also wasted slots. They want only those players who would be available for the tournament. They are spending money and they want to get the results."

Shilpa Shetty, the co-owner of Rajasthan, echoed Modi's words. "We were not convinced about their availability and that's why we did not want to take any risk," she said. "If someone is not going to be available, why bid for him." She also said that though they had watched Tanvir over the past year, they were looking for a batsman.

The co-owner of Kings XI Punjab, Ness Wadia, had a different take, pinning the non-sale of Pakistan players to the lack of open slots for the franchises - 67 players were auctioned for only 13 vacancies. "I do not think that the Pakistan players were ignored purposely," he said. "Many Australian players were too not auctioned. In fact, last year we suffered because of Australia."

Since the terrorist attacks on Mumbai in November 2008, political relations between India and Pakistan have been strained, and bilateral cricketing ties have been suspended.

Like i said yesterday in the other thread, its nothing personal. The Pakistani players have lambasted the franchisees for no reason. Its their own government which is the problem. They didnt let them play last year and at a neutral venue at that. The relations between India and Pakistan are still frosty. Never know what will happen next and the Pakistanis as not allowed either by their govt or Indian to come to India to play. With all the caps and limits on foreign players, its obvious that the franchisees will go with players who they feel will be available through the season.
Also a lot of Aussies have been given a miss. I mean only 11 of the 61 people in the auction found a bid. So why all the moaning?

Pakistan Cricket Board chief Ijaz Butt is likely to be sacked. It's time for Pakistan to retaliate by starting it's own Premier League, with Hamid Gul as CEO, Waziristan/Balochistan as venues and a scintillating opening ceremony with terrorists displaying their crackers aka bombs matching the Indians'. Dawood Ibrahim will be more than ready to sponsor the matches. How about Zaid Hamid being the main commentator for "D-Company PPL".

I pity the players losing out because of the terror being espoused by their government.

What i really didnt understand was why the Indian media was climbing all over the snub. It was as if they were all for the Pakistanis. Lalit Modi was on TV trying hard to explain. It was pathetic.

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Majority of our TV and news agencies are on the left side of the political ideology (or Aman ki Tamasha types who doesn't have any semblance of self-respect or nationalism). So, you can see brotherly feelings for Pakistanis who perpetrate terrorism against our own country. Pathetic to say the least.